A Weary Day's Reward
by Tenshi no Hana-chan
Summary: Horo's wondering why Yoh's still training under Anna's orders even after the Fight. When Yoh gives him an unsatisfactory answer, he resorts to detective work, with some unexpected results...


**AN**: Welcome to my first ever SK fic! I really like YohxAnna… They're so nice together! Especially the fact that they're in a kind of weird relationship… It gives me happiness! Nyahahahahaha!

Okay, I'm in a weird mood.

Anyway, what if Horohoro (hehe, Boroboro ) asks Yoh a question which pushes Yoh to give out a completely unsatisfying answer? What if our Ainu boy decides to do some detective work? Hmm…

This fic will be pushing the rating to M a bit, because of the suggestive language, but there won't be anything here that'll go above the T rating.

Fluff alert, everyone! Well, not totally major fluff, but still fluff.

When the anime started, most of the gang were either 12 or 13, so they'll be either 17 or 18. I'm not too sure about Tamao though, I found some references that she was 11 when the anime started, but I'm not that sure, so she'll have to be 17 instead of 16 in this fic.

Horohoro is a bit of a hentai here, but otherwise, he's the Horohoro we know.

This will also contain some RenxPirika and HoroxTamao, though YohxAnna is still the main focus. Anna will also be a bit OOC, but that's what this story is going to be about.

Like I said, this is my first attempt at an SK fic. This is also my first attempt to draw in flames. Try to make me emotionally stronger as a fanfic writer. (Ehehe…) So come on, bring it on, **flame me!**

Even if I know I'll cry sooner or later…

This is going to be the first of a series of one-shots, so watchout for the next, okay?

Disclaimer: If I owned Shaman King, this would be an episode. But have you watched this before? Nooo…

* * *

**A Weary Day's Reward**

* * *

Horoeku "Horohoro" Usui liked The Inn. 

For the blue-haired Ainu, there was no place like it. It was his second home, and that was something to be amazed at, for he considered home only in nature-filled Hokkaido once before, with all the greenery, the clear blue sky, crystal waters, and his beloved Koropokkuru.

But there was something in The Inn that was special. Something that couldn't be topped by his homeland. Oh, the greenery was limited, the skies were at times blocked by smog, the crystal waters ended at the spring in the backyard, and the only Koropokkuru present was his own.

But Hokkaido didn't have the people he fought side by side with, the people who had saved him or he had saved, one time or the other, the people he considered his friends.

That was exactly the reason why he and his sister Pirika often came back to the place, even after five years after the Shaman Tournament ended.

Looking back, he had seen everyone had grown, physically, emotionally, even mentally. But he was glad that despite everything that had happened, his friends' personalities had remained more or less the same.

But even as he felt content that almost nothing had changed, there was still one thing bothering him.

"Two hundred twenty-one… hn! Two hundred twenty-two… hn! Two hundred twenty-three… hn! …"

Horohoro got down from his seat on the porch and went to watch his friend Yoh Asakura as he struggled to complete his 250 sit-ups. He went to crouch nearby his brunet friend.

"Hey, Yoh…"

Yoh grinned at him despite the excruciating pain he was feeling, the result of the hard training his fiancee Anna Kyouyama was giving him. "S'up, Horo?"

Horohoro stared at the supposed Shaman King pityingly as he scratched his cheek sheepishly. "Don't you feel tired doing all that?"

"Two hundred twenty-nine… hn! Whaddaya mean, Horohoro?"

"You know, all those push-ups, those training…"

Two hundred thirty… hn! Well, Anna makes me," Yoh replied, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well," Horohoro continued, "Yeah, that's kinda obvious, if you ask me, but you're Shaman King now!"

"Sure I am," Yoh answered nonchalantly, as though Horohoro had told him something as insignificant as the fact he was wearing his orange headphones.

"And you're still okay with this training!" the Ainu asked incredulously, about to lose all patience. "I mean, you can ask Anna to stop already, right!"

"Why should I?" Yoh asked, eyeing Horohoro curiously in between push-ups.

"Well," Horohoro said, not actually having considered this before, "if you want to experience muscle pain every single day, that's not supposed to be my problem, I guess."

"I suppose so," Yoh agreed. "Two hundred thirty-five… hn!" There was silence between them for a few moments, except for Yoh's counting and heaves.

"But," Horohoro asked, his curiosity getting the better of him after a while, "why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want muscle pain? Is it some kind of nirvana Buddhist thingamajigy?" At this, Yoh laughed.

"I'm not very religious. Besides, I _hate_ the muscle pain."

"Then _why_ do you undergo Anna's training program every _single_ day with only minor complaints, even if you hate the pain!"

"Two hundred forty-nine… hn! Two hundred fifty… hn!" Horohoro watched as his friend took a water break and wiped his sweat from his body. He could see that Yoh's body was fit and well-toned, though unlike those men who had huge gigantic muscles who looked disgustingly way too fit. Yoh was as lean as he could get. Comparing it to his own body, he looked liked a 60-pound weakling. Horohoro assumed it was his own lack of exercise.

After a while, Yoh still hadn't answered, still immersed within his own thoughts. Horohoro, being impatient, slapped Yoh's head.

"What was that for?" Yoh yelled, startled. "I was dreaming about dinner!"

"You haven't answered my question yet!" Horohoro exclaimed, irritated. "And incidentally, do you fall asleep with your eyes open?"

Yoh calmed down pretty quickly, and gave Horohoro a scanning, almost piercing look. After a few moments, Yoh replied, "I don't really know, Horohoro. I guess… it's pretty fun to make her happy."

"Huh?" Horohoro gave Yoh a weird look. "You like making Anna happy? But she's hardly ever! Why would anyone in the world want to make _Anna_ happy?"

"Well," Yoh said, shrugging, "You said it yourself. Anna's hardly ever happy. Why not make her happy?"

"Dude, you've got your priorities wrong," Horohoro said, shrugging exasperatedly. "Anna wouldn't recognize a joke even if it belly-danced on your dining table wearing nothing but her bandanna. She's too high and mighty to become happy and laugh like us lesser mortals." Yoh looked at him as though he was a mildly interesting television show. "A guy like you should be out there, seeing the world, eating good food, picking up women…" Horohoro put an arm around Yoh's shoulder and waved his hand across their line of sight. "…instead of being stuck here doing nothing fun."

Yoh raised an eyebrow. "But making Anna happy _is_ fun. Well, at least for me it is."

"Your way of thinking is too confusing, Yoh. What would making Anna happy bring you, anyway?"

Yoh sighed, still smiling. "Look at it this way, Horohoro. If I train, and I do a good job of it, sooner or later Anna becomes happy. You don't know her when she's happy, and I do. And I like it when she's happy."

"Point…?"

"When she's happy, I'm happy. Her happiness is mine." Yoh looked to the sky and Horohoro made a barfing motion behind the brunet's back.

"Come on, Yoh. Admit it." Yoh turned his gaze to Horohoro. "There's got to be something behind this. Something like… what's it called? … A _hidden_ _motive_." Horohoro grinned. "Come on Yoh, no one would dare make Anna happy without something in store for them." As Yoh opened his mouth, the snowboarder beat him to it. "And don't give me that _her-happiness-is-reward-enough_ crap. I'm not falling for that."

"Well, like I said. Her happiness is mine. That should be enough of an answer."

"Puh-leeze, Yoh."

"Really."

"No one's gullible enough to believe that."

"Well, if you say so."

"I mean, who in their right mind would make Anna happy without something at stake?"

"You would," came Anna's dreaded voice. Horohoro turned to face her, his face resembling someone who just had their death wish fulfilled.

"I would?" Horohoro replied, his voice no more than a squeak. Anna's face spoke of impending doom. Yoh grinned sheepishly. Anna bent her body so that her face was level the shaking Ainu's. Her eyelids were lowered dangerously.

"Why yes, Boroboro," Anna said, her voice dripping poison. "Your life and your freedom is at stake if you don't make me happy by stopping to distract my Yoh from his training with your obnoxious questioning."

Horohoro backed away slowly. "Y-yes, Anna…"

The itako reverted her gaze to Yoh. "Yoh, I want you to do a hundred weight lifts. Come on, _get moving_." Yoh grinned.

"Yes, Anna." A moment's pause, then, "Hey, can I get some curry udon after training?"

"If you want some you can add 50 more weight lifts to your routine."

"Okay!"

Horohoro sweatdropped. _Is that why Yoh wants to please Anna? To get curry udon? I don't believe it. He can get that anytime he wants! There's got to be something more to this…_

"Oh, and Horohoro?" Anna said, not bothering to look at him.

"Yeah, Anna?" Horohoro asked, relieved that Anna wasn't mad at him anymore.

"If you hurry you can still catch Ren making out with Pirika."

Fury replaced relief as Horohoro's face closely resembled a steamed cherry with nerves. "_TAO REN, I HAVE A LOT OF FURYOKU TO SPEND AND I'LL GLADLY SPEND IT ON_ **_YOUUU_**!"

* * *

Horohoro was stumped. Never in his life had he come upon a puzzler as hard as this one, except maybe when he was contending for Shaman King. He knew Yoh would never succumb to Anna's wishes unless there was something deeper than curry udon involved. Last time, it was the Shaman Tournament. This time, the reason had to be almost as deep as the last, and way deeper than food. 

So he watched. He waited. He looked out for any changes in behavior that Anna could have.

So far, he was two weeks into his watch, and there had been nothing strange about the powerful itako's manner. Nothing out of the norm. In the past two weeks, he had seen nothing out of the ordinary at all.

Two weeks of Yoh training harder than ever, Anna working Yoh harder than ever, Pirika nagging _him _more than ever, and the usual jazz that was around the Inn when they weren't being attacked.

Except for the fact that Tamao Tamamura was acting strange around him, blushing and timid, which he found… rather cute.

And the fact that his sister and Ren Tao kept making googly-eyes around each other.

And the small detail that Anna's hair had grown longer, her breasts fuller, her legs longer, her curves _curvier_.

_The more the reason Yoh would have a hidden motive in making Anna happier._

Otherwise, The Inn was as he had left it five years ago, and it was bothering him.

It never bothered him before, until this problem hit him right smack in the face, like one of Anna's punches did.

Horohoro shifted in his seat on the porch, where he was currently squatting. He had put on his "thinking" face, complete with the crossed arms, the closed eyes, and the slight frown.

_This way too freaky. I'm actually _thinking_, and way too deeply too. What is wrong with me? I've never thought hard enough on trivial things like this before!_

Horohoro snorted in his contemplation. _I should be worried about more important things, like the fact that Ren is _flirting_ with _my_ sister! Whoever would have thought that _Ren_, Mister I-don't-trust-you-even-if-we're-supposedly-friends, is actually falling in love, with Pirika-chan no less. Ha! Pirika deserves better! She can certainly do better than Mister Squinty-Eye Shark-Head!_

_So, added to my duties such as deducing what's going on between Yoh and Anna, and snarfing down The Inn's food supply, I have to shove Ren off from Pirika. Great. Just great._

Horohoro, realizing what he was doing, fell over comically. _Wait just one minute. Since when have I been interested with everyone's love lives?_

"Horohoro-kun?"

The ice shaman opened one eye and spied Tamao sitting beside him, looking concerned. Instantly, he sat up. "S'up, Tamao?"

The pink-haired prophet began to fidget with her shirt. "Well… I thought… you looked troubled… and…" She jerked herself into a smaller form, red forming in her cheeks. "…and… I thought you could use some company…"

Horohoro smiled at her thoughtfulness. It was really typical of her. "Thanks, Tamao." He gave his thoughts a rest and scanned Tamao.

She had certainly grown since they last saw each other. Her bubblegum colored hair had grown a bit longer, and they were a bit more tamed. She had gained a little more weight, but it was enough to give her a womanly form, instead of the slight, frail looking frame she had been blessed with(or cursed with, whatever) years before. But Horohoro had no doubt in mind that she was still the same, shy, mousy, but rather sweet girl he had met five years back.

_She's become _really_ cute._

Tamao blinked, and Horohoro's trance broke. The girl blushed.

"Oh, did I make you uncomfortable?" Horohoro asked, grinning apologetically. Tamao shook her head frantically, her head bowed. Horohoro smiled. "Oh, good."

They remained silent for the next few moments. Then, the blue-haired snowboarder had an idea. "Hey, Tamao?"

"Yes, Horohoro-kun?" Tamao asked, immediately attentive.

"Have you noticed anything… I dunno… _weird_ going on between Yoh and Anna?"

Tamao frowned a bit in contemplation. After a bit, she said, "I'm not exactly privy to Yoh-sama and Anna-sama's relationship…" She cocked her head to the side. "But once, when I visited, I heard snatches of conversation from Yoh-sama's room… and…"

She suddenly blushed _very_ deeply. "Yes? And then?" Horohoro prompted her, getting a _very _naughtyidea, which was very typical of a guy like him.

"I'm afraid I can't say more," Tamao murmured shyly. "Oh my gosh, I have to go now, good bye!" Still with a very deep red across her cheeks, Tamao took leave of Horohoro as quick as she could before he could find out more.

The Ainu smirked. _She was definitely hiding something. And judging from the way she blushed, it's something really quite naughty._

_So, Yoh Asakura, her happiness is yours, huh?

* * *

_

When Horohoro woke up that morning, he knew something was up. To be more specific, he _felt_ something different in the atmosphere.

He wondered if this could be the day.

Noting that the sun wasn't too high in the sky (something he himself was amazed at, since he usually didn't rise until noon) he got dressed and went down to the kitchen to see who Anna had threatened to cook breakfast.

Yep, Anna was a strong, but odd girl.

Horohoro sauntered casually into the dining room, where most of the residents of the Inn were gathered. Tamao and Pirika were catching up on "news", which he assumed was nothing but girly gossip, and Ren was staring into space. Manta had his nose in a book and Amidamaru and Bason were talking about some mundane "ghost thing".

"How can you get a foot rash when you don't even have feet anyway?"

"I do have feet, you just can't see them."

"But we're ghosts, how can we get foot rash?"

"Ghost fungi, maybe?"

Horohoro snorted. Ghost fungi? Souls of microorganisms was something even more unbelievable than anything he had ever heard of.

He noticed neither Yoh nor Anna was there. "So, Yoh cooking today?" he asked Ren. The amber-eyed boy raised an eyebrow.

"You do know Yoh trains this time of morning," Ren replied with a tone suggesting that he thought Horohoro's question was stupid in so many levels. "Anna's doing the cooking."

"It's curry udon, Yoh's favorite," Pirika added.

"That's just weird though, Anna never cooks curry udon, not during breakfast," Manta said.

"Well, Yoh-sama will be very pleased," Tamao commented. "It's very nice of Anna-sama to cook Yoh-sama's favorite."

"I just find it strange that Anna-san would do the cooking when there are a lot more who could do it," Amidamaru put in.

Just as suddenly everyone joined into that one conversation, they went back to their own. Horohoro sat down beside his sister and mused on what everyone had said.

_…Yoh-sama will be very pleased…_

_…Anna's doing the cooking…_

_…curry udon, Yoh's favorite…_

_…nice of Anna-sama to cook Yoh-sama's favorite…_

_…Anna never cooks curry udon…_

_…strange that Anna-san would do the cooking…_

_Everyone's right,_ the blue-haired Ainu realized._ Anna doing the cooking is just plain weird. Anna cooking curry udon is even more out of character since she doesn't really make Yoh indulge all that much._

_There's no doubt about it. It's today._

"Hi guys! Good morning!" Yoh greeted as he slid the door to the dining room open. He had his trademark grin on his face, and he looked exhausted but happy.

"Hey Yoh."

"Mornin', Yoh."

"Good morning, Yoh-sama!"

"Hn."

"Good morning, Yoh-dono."

"Hey Yoh!" Horohoro greeted. "Some morning, huh?"

Yoh raised an eyebrow goodnaturedly. "What do you mean?"

"Anna's cooking curry udon!" Horohoro exclaimed, hoping to get something out of the Shaman. Yoh brightened.

"She did? Hey, that's great," Yoh said happily, but calmly. "It must be _those_ days."

_Those days?_ Horohoro thought. _Does he mean the girls'… uhm… red flag… or Anna's change in mood?_

_No! It just can't be all about curry udon!_

The door from the kitchen opened and Anna stood with the steaming curry udon on her mitted hands. She put the pot on the table with deliberate slowness. As Yoh was about to dig in, she gave him a look. Horohoro noticed it wasn't her usual icy glare, but a rather warm smile twinkling in her eyes. She went back to the kitchen, apparently forgetting something. He looked around and tried to see if anyone noticed.

Everyone had exclaimed, "Itadakimasu!" and had already put the udon on their bowls. They seemed too busy tucking into the meal to notice.

"Oh look," Ren stated, sarcasm clear in his voice. "Ice Block Head is actually going to miss a whole meal. That's a real feat for you, Boroboro. You usually snarf down food like a pig the instant it's set down on the table."

"_Nani?_"

Pirika scanned her brother worriedly. "You know, brother, Ren's right. Why aren't you eating? Are you sick?" She held his forehead with the back of her palm. Horohoro gently pushed it away.

"I'm fine, Pirika," he replied, smiling. "I was just thinking of something."

At that remark, everyone stopped eating. Everyone was looking at Horohoro with something like a daze. "What?" he asked.

Then, everyone's mouths started twitching at the corners. Their once closed lips then grew slowly into grins. Suddenly, everyone burst into peals of wild laughter.

Irritated, Horohoro asked in sheer bewilderment, "_What!_ What's so funny!"

"You… _think_!" Ren, usually calm but now crying in mirth, asked incredulously. "Seriously, Horohoro, _you think_?"

"Hey!" Horohoro cried at the group. "That's insulting!" He looked around for Pirika and Kororo's support. "Aww, Pirika, Kororo, not you guys too!"

"S-sorry, Onii-chan, it's… just that…" Pirika giggled, unable to breathe, let alone speak straight. "It's just that… hearing you say that… you know, thinking… it's almost ridiculous!"

Horohoro sulked as everyone's guffaws quieted to giggles. He almost forgot what his day's mission was until Anna arrived from the kitchen and replaced Yoh's bowl with a bigger one.

"You need your appetite, _Yoh-kun_," she murmured, so softly that she might have thought no one but Yoh could hear it. But Horohoro did.

"Thanks, _Anna-chan_," Yoh murmured just as softly, filling his bowl with the delicious smelling udon.

_Yoh-kun! Anna-chan? Since when did those two call each other like that!_ Horohoro thought dubiously as he slowly filled his bowl with food. _What happened to the times when Anna would have killed Yoh – or anyone for that matter – whenever he called her Anna-chan!_

_There really is something up. This must be the thing that Yoh means… what he said about Anna being happy. But there's got to be more to this than just the honorifics… I mean, what about the "conversation" Tamao heard?_

_There's got to be something in this that involves a bed…

* * *

_

Horohoro knew it had to be today. There was no mistake about it. The curry udon, the endearments, they were too coincidental for his ignoring.

He had to see what was going on for himself.

_This is going to be awesome. I get to see Yoh and Anna _in action_! Well, at least the non-nudish parts of it. Anna would kill me if I did see-_

Horohoro shook his head and tried to get rid of his sudden nosebleed. This wasn't time for voyeurism and overactive imagination, at least, not yet.

He watched from behind a sliding door as Anna went to sit down on the porch, which was right in front of the place where Yoh was doing his daily exercise routine. Horohoro observed them with attentiveness he hadn't achieved before as he watched from what one would have called a sideview point.

"Yoh," Anna murmured. Calling his name was an invitation to sit down, as Horohoro deduced. Anna patted down the place beside her. Yoh swung off from the exercise bar he was working on and sat down beside his fiancée. Horohoro raised an eyebrow.

_What are they going to do now?_

Anna rested her head on Yoh's shoulder. From what Horohoro could see, Yoh tensed as though surprised, then relaxed and put an arm around Anna. They stayed in that position for a while, looking at the clouds. Horohoro could hear them murmuring, but couldn't make out the words.

Yoh then pointed to the clouds. Horohoro tried to see what he was pointing out as best as he could.

_A bunny-shaped cloud?_

Horohoro turned his gaze to Anna. She was shaking.

With giggles.

It was as though watching a miracle. Anna had put a hand on her mouth and her eyes had crinkled, as though the laugh had reached her eyes. Yoh smiled at her reaction.

_Wait. Anna is _laughing_! This can't be! Anna doesn't laugh like lesser mortals!_

He watched Anna point to the clouds. He looked at her finger's direction and saw she was pointing at…

_A monkey-cloud. Okay, this is getting ridiculous._

Horohoro snapped his attention to Yoh, who had yelled, still laughing, "Hey! I don't look like a monkey!" Anna was giggling harder than ever. She pushed him playfully.

All morning long, the two watched the clouds and their shape, giving Horohoro surprises in so many different levels.

_No effing way!_

It was the phrase that kept repeating in Horohoro's mind for the rest of the morning.

* * *

Lunch had come, and it was the usual thing, except that there were a few changes. 

Anna kept offering Yoh food, and Yoh took it without question. All meal long, they kept making _those_ eyes at each other, which Horohoro thought nobody but him could understand and appreciate.

And Horohoro, in his observation, wasn't touching his food.

"Onii-chan, really, what's wrong with you?" Pirika asked as she waved a hand in front of her older brother's face. "This is the fourth time you've spaced out on me! Why aren't you eating?"

"Thinking of something again?" Ren asked sarcastically, causing everyone to form barely hidden grins.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Horohoro replied hotly, glaring at Ren. His reply caused another ripple of laughter around the table.

Horohoro noticed Anna wasn't joining in the laughter._ So, she only laughs at _Yoh's _jokes, huh?_

_This is getting freaky._

_But when is the bedroom part coming?_

Horohoro followed Yoh, who had gone out after lunch. He felt like a ninja, hiding in the shadows, spying, waiting…

Yoh stopped at a mochi stand and bought a few sticks of mochi. Horohoro raised an eyebrow for the umpteenth time that day.

_Aren't you going to buy flowers or chocolate, Yoh? _Horohoro asked in his head. _But then again, I suppose Anna's not the type who'd like those kind of things…_

He followed Yoh to the drugstore. _Drugstore!_ Horohoro thought excitedly. _Maybe he's going to buy condoms or something!_

"A bottle of multivitamins, please," Yoh told the man behind the counter. "Oh, and that box over there."

_A box! That must mean… _Horohoro smirked inwardly. He made mental note to steal Yoh's purchases, which was placed by the pharmacist in a plastic bag, to see if the thing he bought which was in the box was truly what he thought it was.

Yoh hummed to himself as he sauntered home in his carefree manner. Horohoro followed Yoh home and watched his movements.

"Hey, Anna!"

"Hmm, Yoh?"

Horohoro could now see Yoh leaning by the door to Anna's room. "Got your mochi!" Yoh exclaimed, grinning and waving the bag of mochi. He saw Anna smile.

"Thanks, Yoh-kun," Anna said simply. She took the bag from him and they walked towards the direction of the porch. Horohoro followed them with the stealth of a cat.

A very heavy-handed cat, that is.

Passing the rooms, Horohoro kept his eye on the couple, who were talking under their breaths. He didn't notice a vase stood in his way.

As he moved forward, he hit the vase accidentally. It teetered in place, forcing Horohoro to grab it before it crashed. The sound it made while he put it back in place caused Yoh and Anna to turn.

"What do you think it was?" Yoh asked.

"No idea," Anna said.

Horohoro crouched behind the big vase. _That was close, _he said to himself.

He sat behind a sliding door again and spied on Anna and Yoh eating mochi in silence. Anna was leaning on Yoh yet again. Horohoro realized that if he were a girl he would be sighing.

_Yech__. Since when did I start thinking like a _girl

"Hey, Yoh…"

Anna's voice startled Horohoro into looking at the couple again. "Yeah, Anna?"

"Do you…" Anna's voice was so low that Horohoro couldn't hear what she was saying.

"Yeah, I do," Yoh replied. Horohoro couldn't see their faces, but he was sure that Anna was smiling. She moved closer to Yoh and the brunet put his arm around her waist. "You're right, I think so too."

_I think so too? … That's strange, I thought Anna was asking him if he loved her. But why would he say that?_

Horohoro was getting more and more confused by the minute.

"Horohoro-kun? What are you looking at?"

The blue-haired Shaman almost jumped out of his skin as Tamao looked at him concernedly. "I-it's… it's nothing, Tamao," Horohoro whispered, hoping Anna and Yoh wouldn't hear his voice, at the same time praying Tamao couldn't see what he was spying… no, _looking_ at. Before she could get a peek out of the sliding door, he quickly stood up and pushed Tamao away from the scene, the bubblegum-haired prophet looking confused.

"Look, Tamao, I was just looking at… at… at the clouds! Yeah!" Horohoro exclaimed quickly, glad for the inspiration Yoh and Anna (unknowingly) had given him.

"Why not look at the clouds from that door?" Tamao asked in her timid way.

"Because… the view wasn't perfect! And… I was crawling along, looking at the clouds from each sliding door, to see if the view looked perfect from there," Horohoro lied quickly. Tamao blinked innocently, and Horohoro immediately felt guilty for lying. Shoving the guilt away for the meantime, he steered her away from Yoh and Anna as far as possible. Tamao looked terribly puzzled, but complied.

When he was sure that they were far from the itako and her fiancé, he pushed her gently out of the nearest sliding door. "There! The view's perfect!"

Tamao frowned slightly. "Horohoro-kun, we can't see the sky from here," she said pointedly but politely. Horohoro laughed nervously.

"Ah! Oh! Um…" he stuttered. Tamao giggled.

"I know of a good place to look at the clouds," she started shyly. "My opinion doesn't matter very much, of course, but…"

"Go on," Horohoro asked, his gentlemanly instinct immediately kicking in.

"Up on the roof," Tamao mumbled, red from the roots of her hair. Horohoro smiled.

"Then come on," he said, and, without thinking, picked her up. He walked outside and took a great leap to the roof.

They landed lightly, and looked at each other. Tamao cleared her throat, and only then did Horohoro notice the fact that she was still nestled in his arms. He set her down as quickly as he could without injuring her, the blush on his face contrasting with his hair.

When they had finally calmed down, they sat back down, admiring the view the roof offered. Horohoro then realized why Yoh and Anna did this.

_…realized why Yoh and Anna did this._

_HOLY CRAP.__ YOH AND ANNA.

* * *

_

Horohoro was partly glad he had gotten away from Tamao's company. Not that he didn't enjoy sitting next to her, identifying cloud shapes, but he had his duty to watch one of his closest friends and his fiancée to see how deep their relationship went. He was glad (in more ways than one) that Tamao had fallen asleep on his shoulder an hour after they had climbed up. He had carried her to her room and set her on her futon.

_…cute…_

He had shaken the thought out of his mind and had torn his gaze from Tamao's sleeping angelic face. He had a couple to observe.

When he went to Yoh and Anna's seemingly favorite spot on the porch, they had gone. He went around the house, hoping to be able to sneak up on them making out, only to find out that they had gone out, judging by the fact that their sandals were not in the foyer.

The snowboarder took off, searching the whole Funbari for them.

"Gods, the trouble I go through to watch these two get fuzzy with each other," he muttered as he looked into every store to find the two.

Finally, upon looking into an ice cream shop, he found Yoh and Anna sitting in a booth, talking quietly. Before Anna could turn her head to gaze outside the window, Horohoro had ducked and crept into the back door of the shop.

He found himself in a kitchen, with the workers bustling. _For an ice cream shop, it sure is hot in here,_ Horohoro thought as he ducked again to avoid the gaze of one of the waitresses. Slowly, but surely, he crept to the outside of the kitchen and hid behind one of the potted plants near Yoh and Anna. He could hear snatches of their conversation.

"…you, Yoh… but…"

"But? What's there to question about making… one you…"

"…too young… won't approve…"

"…eighteen! They… understand…"

"What if we get…"

"Anna… in this or not?"

Horohoro put two and two together and realized (as only a horny guy could) that they could be talking about sex. He could supply words to fill in the blanks Yoh and Anna had set in their conversation.

Anna: I love you, Yoh, but…

Yoh: But? What's there to question about making love when it's with one you love?

Anna: We're too young, no one would approve.

Yoh: We're eighteen! They will really understand that.

Anna: What if we get pregnant?

Yoh: Anna, are you in this or not?

Horohoro suddenly couldn't get the mental image of Anna and Yoh romping in bed. He tried to shake it off.

_When did I develop this hentai side of mine, anyway!

* * *

_

Nothing. So far, Horohoro had nothing interesting yet, unless he counted the fluffiness, and the blanked out conversations which he himself had filled up.

_It's time to look at Yoh's mysterious package._

As he slowly walked home, he vaguely noticed the sun was going down. _I'm glad I already ate dinner outside. Everyone must be done with dinner now._ _There must be something happening in The Inn right about now…_

There _was _something happening, as he caught Ren on the way in with a couple of marks on his neck. "Ren," he growled at the dazed looking Chinese, "I threatened you not to touch Pirika!"

Ren just stared at him, smirked, and went off in the street. Horohoro, shaking his head, went in.

Yoh walked by him, only a towel wrapped around his waist. "Hey, how'd you get here before I did?" Horohoro asked Yoh incredulously.

Yoh raised his eyebrows. "Oh, were you out too?"

Horohoro suddenly realized how near he was to blowing his cover. "Uh, yeah, um, I saw you and Anna in the ice cream shop on my way to, um, buying stuff."

"So where's the stuff?" Yoh asked, looking mildly curious. Horohoro felt tense.

"Uhm, I didn't get to buy it! OkayI'mgoingnowbye!" Horohoro took off as fast as he could. As he ran away, he could hear Anna ask Yoh, "What was that all about?"

Horohoro skidded to a halt at the sound of Anna's voice. "You coming, Yoh?" Anna asked.

"Yeah, I am," Yoh replied. Their footsteps grew fainter, and Horohoro went to follow them.

He scrambled to hide behind the clothes hamper by the bathroom door before Anna could turn her head to look at him.

"You done, Yoh?" Anna called. From what Horohoro could see, she was only wearing a yukata, giving the impression she was going to bathe.

"Yeah, Anna, you can come in, now." Anna slid the door open, and Horohoro felt disappointed, thinking that it wasn't all that it seemed.

_Maybe they aren't going to bathe together after all. Maybe I'm jsut imagining things going on between Yoh and Anna. Maybe it's all platonic._

But before he could finish the thought, Anna came into the bathroom, and just as he thought Yoh would come out after her, he didn't. Horohoro snickered, but so only he could hear himself. _So they are going to bathe after all._

Indecent thoughts began to chase one another half-naked in Horohoro's mind, and he felt a nosebleed coming on.

"Are you ready, Yoh?" Anna's voice was set in _sotto voce,_ but Horohoro could hear her perfectly.

"Sure, Anna, you can start now," came Yoh's voice. Horohoro pressed his ears to the door, hooping that no one, man nor ghost, would disturb his observation.

Yoh groaned from behind the door. _Of contentment... or something else?_

"Mhhm, that's good, Anna, that's really good... oh..."

"I'm glad you like it, Yoh," Anna replied in her soft voice.

The dirty things were filling Horohoro's mind quickly as he imagined one scene after another. From the other side of the door, Yoh moaned again.

Again and again, for the next few minutes, Yoh complimented Anna on what she was doing, moaning and groaning so that Horohoro could almost guess what the were really doing in the bathroom besides bathing. At one point,he heard water splash,and Yoh exclaim, "H-hey! Anna, gods, no, not there-"

But Anna laughed, which thoroughly threw Horohoro off. To him, she sounded...

_...seductive..._

"Sorry, Yoh, I couldn't resist," Anna said in a sultry tone, or as Horohoro imagined it was.

Finally, after several minutes of whatever they were doing (and Horohoro had a very good guess what) he heard a splash, and footsteps coming toward him. He dived behind the hamper again. Anna came out. She stood, waiting, for something Horohoro had no idea of.

"You can get in, now, Anna," Yoh said as he opened the door. Anna nodded. To Horohoro's surprise, Yoh waitedin front ofthe door. A few minutes later, he heard a splash, and Anna's voice telling him to come in.

Then, the process began again, and it was spinning Horohoro's imagination out of control. This time, the roles were reversed as it was Anna making moans from behind the bathroom door. Only, they were more controlled than Yoh's were.

At another point, Anna had said, "You pervert, Yoh. Not _there_."

"Sorry, I couldn't resist, Anna," Yoh said. If Horohoro could see him now, he was sure he was smiling his famous sheepish grin.

Finally, he heard footsteps and Yoh coming out of the bathroom. He only dived behind the hamper just in time not to be seen.

Yoh seemed to wait for Anna, and Horohoro took the oppurtunity to sneak away from the place. He crawled away until he was out of earshot, then broke into a fast run to the nearest room.

Panting, Horohoro shut the door. Looking around, he realized that he was in Yoh's room, and Yoh had deposited the package from the drugstore on his desk. Casting furtive looks to his sides, he grabbed the package, expecting a pack of contraceptives hidden under the bottle of multivitamins.

Needless to say, Horohoro was disappointed.

It was only a box of things he knew girls wore in their underwear when they got grouchy. He only knew it as that _time of month_, the _red flag_. Only because Pirika called it as such.

Sighing disappointedly, he made to put the package back on it's original place, when he heard voices just outside the room.

"Thanks a lot, Yoh," Anna's voice murmured. "That was really nice. It's been a long time since I had one of those massages from you."

"Well," Yoh's voice replied, "if you weren't so grouchy all the time I'd do that everyday. And your massages aren't so bad themselves."

"It _is_ rather relaxing to be massaged in a bath," Anna said in an admitting tone. Horohoro raised his eyebrows in surprise. The itako's voice took on a dark tone. "But you should be careful about where your hands roam because I might set my shikigami on you."

He heard Yoh laugh. "Come on, if you just didn't wear a towel to bathe while I'm there-"

"Yoh..." Anna growled, her voice lowering dangerously.

"Sorry." Horohoro saw Yoh's silhouette move closer to the shoji of his room. "Well, I'll see you."

Horohoro panicked. He had no idea where to hide. He didn't know whether to hide or not. His mind was filled with such a big revelation.

_So they were in the bathroom, but they were just massaging each other._

Now that he thought about it, his previous thoughts were nothing but illogical. Why would Anna wait for Yoh to undress outside the bathroom door? And why would Yoh do the same if they were going to do it in the bathroom anyway?

_They were probably just being sweet to each other. That's what lovers do, after all._

_I should really apologize to Yoh, for thinking that way about him and Anna, _Horohoro thought guiltily. _I guess they don't deserve to have those kind of thoughts focused on them._

Yoh slid open the shoji. "Horohoro!" Yoh exclaimed, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Yoh," Horohoro muttered. "I need to talk to you."

Yoh immediately put on his understanding look. "Sure,Horohoro."

The two boys sat down on the floor, Horohoro looking ashamed of himself. Yoh looked on, as midly curious as ever.

"Look, Yoh," Horohoro began, his eyes downcast. "I'm really sorry."

Yoh cocked his head to the side like a curious bird. "What for?"

And Horohoro explained all the things he had done that day. "I've been a horrible guy today, Yoh. I've eavesdropped, tried to peak into your bath and Anna's, and thought really naughty thoughts about you guys. But you guys don't deserve that. I realize now that it was wrong of me to think those things 'coz I see that you're just really being nice to each other 'coz you're engaged and all. And probably in love."

Yoh smiled understandingly. "Yeah. I guess we are. I'm cool with it, Horohoro. Really," he added reassuringly when Horohoro stared at him disbelievingly.

"You know what, I remember what you said before, you know, about making Anna happy. Is this one of those days?" Horohoro asked. "If I'm not prying of course. Just curious," he added hastily.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Yoh murmured. "This is exactly why I love making Anna happy. Because she does such nice things for me as a unmentioned reward." He grinned at the stunned Ainu. "Just don't tell her I told you, though."

"Will do, buddy," Horohoro promised, raising his hand as a promise sign. "Cross my heart. And I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Yoh reassured him. Grinning again, he said, "You know, Tamao's been looking for you. You weren't there during dinner."

"She was?" Horohoro asked, reddening a little.

"Yeah," Yoh replied. His grin grew wider. "I think she likes you." The snowboarder went even redder, if it were possible. "Why don't you seduce her tonight?"

Horohoro grit his teeth in surprise at the suggestion. "Eh? But Tamao... she's..."

"Too innocent?" Yoh asked. He shook his head. "Stop thinking like that. She won't wait forever, you know."

Horohoro grinned, heartened at Yoh's words. "Yeah, I guess she won't." He winked at Yoh and gave him a thumbs-up sign. "I guess she can't help falling in love with a great guy like me, right, Yoh?"

Yoh chuckled. "And you can't help falling in love with her, either. Now get going."

As Horohoro walked to Tamao's room, he felt lighthearted.

_Mission one: knowing Yoh and Anna's relationship. Completed, but with unexpected results. But despite that, it's cool._

_Mission two: getting a girl. Looks like I got that, too._

And he grinned as he slid Tamao's door open. "Hey, Tamao," he murmured to the pink-haired girl, who had been reading until he arrived.

"Horohoro-kun!" she cried out, surprised. She blushed, and the more Horohoro thought she was cute. "W-what are you doing here?"

Horohoro said nothing, but sat beside the confused prophet. Without further ado, he took her chin in his hand and gave her a kiss that they both knew would start something new.

Something great.

* * *

Yoh stopped walking by Anna's door. Apparently, she felt his presence, because she called out, "Come in, Yoh." 

Yoh entered her room, and watched in awe as Anna sat on the futon, waiting for him to make a move. She looked like a goddess, the moonlight casting an ethereal rainment over her features.

That was probably one of the reasons why he fell in love with her.

"Anna," he murmured, offering her a gentle smile. She nodded her head to tell him she wanted him to come closer.

He knelt in front of her, and her expression softened. She crawled nearer and rested her head on his chest, hearing his fast heartbeat. "That was smart of you," she murmured, tracing a pattern on his bare chest, where his yukata had parted. "Telling him to seduce Tamao, I mean. Her room is on the opposite side of the house."

"I guess it was also the time for him to make a move on her," he murmured distractedly, wrapping his arms tightly around her. He nuzzled her hair, taking in her shampooed scent. "Now we can get on with our business."

"You really like these kind of days when I'm cheerful, ne, Yoh?" Anna whispered, her voice sultry again.

"Of course."

"Well," Anna said as she gently pushed Yoh onto the futon, untying his belt, "that's one friend down. We'll have to tell them of our romantic relationship sooner or later."

"Sure," Yoh agreed. "But now," he added, holding Anna by the waist and maneuvering their bodies so that she was under him, "Let's just forget about that all and do what engaged people are supposed to do." He grinned, and Anna smiled.

* * *

Pirika lay down on her futon, waiting for sleep to come. But somehow, it wouldn't.

She knew Yoh and Anna were doing their usual thing, whatever that was. And she still hadn't heard her brother come into their room, so that meant he was sleeping somewhere else.

_And I have a pretty good guess where, _Pirika thought, smirking.

And that left her alone.

Or maybe not. She still hadn't counted Ren.

"Onii-chan is going to freak once I tell him Ren and I have been steady for months," she murmured to herself.

"You got that right," Ren's voice said from her window. Pirika smiled and waited for him to get nearer her bed. He shed his yukata so that he was standing in his boxers.

As he moved on top of the blue-haired girl, she whispered, "You know Onii-chan is going to kill you once he finds out about this."

"Nah, he's in Tamao's room, fat chance is he going to find out," Ren muttered into her ear, his nose brushing her ear lobe. Pirika giggled and let him take charge.

* * *

Needless to say, no one was awake to make breakfast the next morning.

* * *

**AN: **Well, was that okay? Please tell me in a review! If you do, I'm going to add another one-shot to this series!

Thanks for thinking of clicking that little button that will let you review! I don't care if it's good or bad, a review is a review and you'll be making a Little Angel of Blossoms happy (or stronger, whichever)!


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